Good morning, Whitewater

There’s a
Common Council meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. The agenda is available online. (It’s a pdf but not a useful, searchable text pdf like other City of Whitewater agendas.)

On this date in 1934, the Wisconsin Historical Society recalls the anniversary of a step toward bigger government, intrusion in commercial and private life, and less individual choice —
“Wisconsin Progressive Party Formally Organized” —

On this date Wisconsin’s Progressive Party was formally organized near 30 E. 2nd St. in Fond du Lac. It had begun as a “progressive” movement within the Wisconsin Republican Party more than 30 years before, and under leaders such as Robert M. LaFollette its list of achievements brought national attention to Wisconsin.

By the 1930s, a new generation of policy makers, many of whom had been trained under progressive Republicans, were advocating for reforms as part of Democrat Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs (see our page on the Wisconsin roots of Social Security for an example). At the same time, a new generation of Republicans such as Walter Kohler were advocating their own solutions to the nation’s problems. The heirs of the LaFollette tradition organized a third party, the Wisconsin Progressive Party, to keep alive the traditions they valued.

[Source: History Just Ahead: A Guide to Wisconsin’s Historical Markers, edited by Sarah Davis McBride]

From our elementary schools today, there’s a choir concert in the high school auditorium at 1:30 p.m. and again at 7 p.m.

Good morning, Whitewater

There are no public meetings scheduled in the City of Whitewater today, but there will be a Common Council meeting tomorrow, and a Police and [sic] Fire Commission meeting on Wednesday.

The Wisconsin Historical Society recalls a student protest in Milwaukee on this date in 1964:

On this date, the 10th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, students from Milwaukee schools participated in the first boycott of the city’s public schools, a critical moment in civil rights and desegregation movements in Wisconsin.

Two months earlier, in March 1964, the NAACP, CORE, and other civil rights organizations formed MUSIC — the Milwaukee United School Integration Committee. Its purpose was to implement mass action to highlight the issue of educational inequality. For two years, sit-ins, picketing, prayer vigils, marches, and boycotts had raised public awareness about segregation but failed to move the school board to action.

In December of 1965, Wisconsin civil rights activist and attorney Lloyd Barbee filed a formal desegregation suit in federal court on behalf of 41 black and white children, eventually decided in their favor in 1976. [Source: Rethinking Schools].

In our schools, there will be a Whitewater Middle School choir concert at the high school tonight at 7 p.m.

Good morning, Whitewater

The City of Whitewater has one public meeting scheduled for today. At 3:00 p.m., there will be a Police Day ceremony at the municipal building.

According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, on this date in 1911, the City of Janesville sought to ban — wait for it — fortune tellers:

On this date the Janesville City Council proposed ordinances banning fortune-tellers and prohibiting breweries from operating bars in the city. For more on Wisconsin brewing history, see the “Brewing and Prohibition” page at Turning Points in Wisconsin History. [Source: Janesville Gazette].

Good morning, Whitewater

The City of Whitewater’s Planning Commission meeting will take place tonight, beginning at 6 p.m., at the municipal building. The meeting agenda is available online.

There will be a Whitewater Middle School Band Concert, held at the High School Auditorium, tonight at 7 p.m.

Good morning, Whitewater

There are no public meetings listed for the City of Whitewater today. There will be others later this week; you’ll not go too very long without public regulation of your productive, private activity.

On this day in 1846, Congress granted President Polk’s request for a declaration of war against Mexico. Many prominent Americans, including Lincoln and John Quincy Adams, opposed the war.

It’s worth noting that their dissent from a generally popular American action was honorable; it’s also worth noting that the war ended in 1848.

Good morning, Whitewater

There are three public meetings in the City of Whitewater today. A 5 p.m., there is a combined meeting of the Community Development Authority and Common Council. Also at 5 p.m., the Park and Recreation Board will meet. Later, at 6:30 p.m., the Irvin Young Memorial Library Board will meet.

In Wisconsin history, from the Wisconsin Historical Society, one finds a tale of Prohibition, from 1931:

On this date Clifford Conn of Crandon was apprehended by Janesville police officers with 90 gallons of moonshine in his car. This was the largest single seizure of illegal alcohol by local law enforcement to this date. For the offense, Crandon was fined $700 and sentenced to two months in jail. [Source: Janesville Gazette]

Good morning, Whitewater

There are no public meetings listed for the City of Whitewater today.

It’s a big day for big government in Wisconsin, and America. The Wisconsin Historical Society notes that on this day in 1891, Arthur J. Altmeyer was born. I didn’t know who he was, either, but the Society’s website supplies the answer:

On this date Arthur J. Altmeyer, the “father of social security,” was born in DePere. Altmeyer was one of the seminal figures of the Social Security program in America. He was part of the President’s Committee on Economic Security that drafted the original legislative proposal in 1934. He was a member of the three-person Social Security Board created to run the new program, and he was Chairman of the Board or Commissioner for Social Security from 1937-1953. Altmeyer died on October 19, 1972 and is buried in Madison’s Forest Hill Cemetery.

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Good morning, Whitewater

There are no public meetings listed today for the City of Whitewater. We’ll muddle through.

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